Spanish Rice Bake

This is a new recipe that I tried out Monday night. The boys gobbled it down and I took leftovers to my parents house for Peter to eat Tuesday night. It ended up getting fantastic reviews from everyone and it was easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can canned tomatoes, sliced
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup taco sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch black pepper
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess fat and transfer beef to a large pot over medium low heat. Stir in the onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, taco sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper.
3. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then transport this to a 2 qt casserole dish. Press Down firmly and sprinkle witht he shredded cheddar cheese.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Just Saying Hi

Seriously! This week has gone by waaaaay too fast. I've started making some progress on our messy house and I got all of our vacation/Halloween photos downloaded, edited and sent out so that feels good. On Wednesday I took Jameson in for his 18month check up. Can you believe my goober is already 18months old??? Any hoo, he's doing great. His right ear is infection free. They did a hearing test on him that they normally reserve for 3 year olds because you have to sit completely still and not talk. He passed with flying colors! It's reassuring to know that after all of his ear infections, there isn't any permanent ear damage. He has also gained a pound since his 15month checkup, but he grew 1 1/4 inches. So at 24lbs, he's in the 35th percentile for weight and at 34 1/4 inches he's int he 94th percentile for height. All the nurses are amazed at how tall he is. Try getting pants to fit him! He has to wear 18month jeans for the length, but they're still big in the waist. 24months pants would truly be the ideal length for him, but they fall right off. I know I'm not supposed to compare but Ayden was wearing 2T's at 18months!

Starr's Mill

It's going to be a good weekend. On Saturday, mom and I are going to start our Christmas shopping and take the boys to Starr's Mill for pictures. It's so beautiful there and the trees are in full color right now. Sunday we plan on getting some stuff done around home. We have thousands of black walnuts to pick up, leaves to burn, a refrigerator to fit in our kitchen and the never ending housework to tackle.

Jason leaves next Tuesday for work in Alabama. He won't be home until Saturday so that means a really long week for me. I'll be sure to post pictures of our "photo shoot" with the boys this weekend.

Halloween Costumes

Just a few pictures of Halloween with the boys in their costumes. I feel I had the cutest Scooby Doo and Devil out there. Jameson didn't really need the costume though...ha ha ha.

Book Update

I totally forgot to tell you! I finished reading the 2nd and 3rd books in the Twilight series while we were on vacation! Jason was actually getting mad at me because I couldn't stop reading...especially the 3rd book (Eclipse). She left it wide open for a 4th so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I gave all 3 to my mom to read and I highly recommend them to the rest of you.

My latest obsession is Real Simple magazine. Love all of the ideas in there!! I've found some great recipes, gift ideas and decorating/organization tips.

Is anyone reading anything spectacular right now? I can only live off of scrapping magazines, Real Simple and Rachel Ray, US and People for so long.

Serious Issues

Daddy got home from work on Saturday and we packed the boys up to head out to Senoia (way out in the sticks) for dinner at a friends house. We brought Ayden's 4wheeler so he'd have something to do. Bob had one other couple over besides us and it was sooooooo nice to socialize with more grownups. Jason bought me a 6pack of Corona (more than enough since I rarely drink) and we hung out outside while Bob did his magic at the grill. Next thing I knew, I asked Jason to get me another beer and he informed me that I drank them all. Holy cow! No wonder I was having a hard time making complete sentences.

Okay....this is funny. We have a very tiny master bathroom and there's a window facing the toilet. (laugh laugh snort snort) I had to tinkle but was slightly intoxicated so I ended up underestimating how close to the toilet seat I was. (laugh snort laugh) I slammed my forehead on the windowsill and almost peed all over the place. (snort snort laugh) I woke up yesterday morning with this painful bump on my forehead.

No, no, wait...it gets better. This morning after dropping the boys off, I'm walking back to the truck and totally forgot about the paver edging separating the grass from the driveway. I tripped over it, slammed towards the hood of the truck and before I could I get my hands out to support myself my forehead made contact....right where I had hit the windowsill Saturday night. (laugh laugh snort) It hurt so badly all I could do was stumble my way to the truck door and fight the tears swimming in my eyes. Now I can't touch my forehead without wincing in pain.

And people wonder where Jameson gets it! I'll leave you today with a family photo.

On the beach at St. George.

Much Better

I'm doing much better today. Actually, I was over my pity fest yesterday afternoon. I must have been in a better mood since Jason went to dinner with an old co-worker while I struggled with a sleeping Ayden and a crazy Jameson at nail night and I wasn't annoyed! Actually, my mom is a huge help in that department, but it's also because I need him home next Tuesday for a scrap meeting and dinner with the girls so I didn't want to seem unaccommodating.

I'm trying to get a head start on year end so when we have our department meeting next Tuesday I'll look like the great ass kisser that I'm striving to be. That being said, I'll make every attempt to post more about our vacation this weekend. If you didn't get the pictures that I sent out via Kodak Gallery, let me know and I'll forward them on. I'll leave you with one of my favorites.

Have a great weekend!

Pity Fest for One

Warning - Do not read unless you're up for a good pity fest

i'm tired
my entire house is a wreck
i mean a serious wreck
the boys rooms, our room, the kitchen...everywhere
i'm so sick of our ugly stained carpet
can't wait until we get our tax refund so we can finally start working on the floors
don't even get me started on our pathetic kitchen cabinets
i have laundry coming out of my ears
i need new clothes in the worst way
our hr director is a whiney ass
i'm super busy at work
i'm depressed that I can't find 30 minutes at night to edit our vacation photos
i think clyde ate "something" at the beach
he's seriously raunchy and i don't have time to give him a bath
ayden woke up in a pissy mood this morning
i feel like the worlds worst mom as i'm yelling at him to go potty and brush his teeth
seconds after he woke up
great way to start the morning
packed peanut butter and jelly for lunch today
i was so annoyed while driving to work that i ate it
now i don't have a lunch
i hate that i'm in a crappy mood
i'm normally the cheerful teamplayer at work
i just want to shut my door and ignore everyone
i seriously hope jason doesn't have to work this weekend
okay, i'm done